Alanna Smith and Courtney Williams are getting better and growing together in Minnesota

Not to be diminished, though, should be the player who got her the ball. Lynx forward Alanna Smith found Williams on the wing after getting a huge offensive rebound on a night when offensive rebounds were few and far between for the Lynx against the bigger, stronger Liberty.

The play was the latest example of how the Smith-Williams connection has paid dividends throughout their first season in Minnesota. 

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Before practice ahead of Game 2, Williams was asked how special it was to have Smith, her former teammate with the Chicago Sky, be the one to get the clutch board and the assist on that crucial shot.

“Oh man, huge,” Williams told reporters. “I say all the time, I’m so proud of ‘Lan and I’m so happy that she’s getting some credit now because she does so much for us. … Man, I’m happy for my dog.”

In 2023, Smith and Williams shared a locker room, shared the ball and shared a tumultuous season with the Sky. The Sky started the season 7-9, and then head coach James Wade left for an assistant coaching position with the Toronto Raptors. Assistant coach Emre Vatansever took over and guided the Sky to an 18-22 regular-season record, which earned the team the eighth and final playoff spot and the right to get swept in the first round by the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.

“What we played through last year together makes what we’re doing right now worth it,” Smith said after a victory against the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of the semifinals. “Overall, it was quite a challenging season, so to come here together and it be as successful as it has been, and to have our own personal success as well, it’s why you play. It’s why we do what we do. You want to be able to play good basketball with good people. We’ve been really, really fortunate to land ourselves in a very, very good position with great people. 

“I know I’m really fortunate to do it with Courtney. I don’t think I would have been able to get through the season last year without having Courtney as a teammate.”

The word “chemistry” has been used quite a bit around the Target Center and at the Lynx’s practice facilities across the street at Mayo Clinic Square this season. Head coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve has said that the team’s chemistry and the selflessness in the way everyone plays for each other has been apparent since the second day of training camp. That has proved true time and again this season. 

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In retrospect, anyone who was present for the press conference introducing Smith and Williams on March 11 could see the Lynx were not just adding two talented players, but also a personal friendship built on their basketball connection. 

They were both in different parts of the country for that virtual press conference, separated by miles of space and dozens of Zoom rectangles filled by various media members. But the apparent excitement and joy they showed about playing together again could close any amount of distance, physical or virtual. 

“I get to go back to work with Big ‘Lan!” Williams said during her opening comments that day. “‘Lan is a dog now. I don’t think she gets enough credit. I feel like she should have been Sixth [Player of the Year] last year or Most Improved or something, because I feel like she came out and she did a lot of great things. So I’m definitely excited about getting back on the court with Big ‘Lan.”

Smith, who enjoyed something of a breakout season with the Sky in 2023 after getting cut by the Fever nine games into the 2022 season, had numerous suitors for the first time in her WNBA career. And one happened to be a friend.

“I got a text from Courtney pretty early on [in free agency],” Smith said. “This type of free agency for me this time around, it was kind of new. … So to hear from Courtney was honestly really special for me and it made me feel really good about my decision to go to Minny because I knew Courtney wanted me there and I really enjoyed playing with Courtney, too.”

Williams responded to those words from Smith in kind. 

“Oh man! That made me feel good!” Williams said. “I hit her and said, ‘Big ‘Lan, what we doing? Let’s get to it!’ ‘Lan is just a ball of great energy. We had so much fun last year. So when Cheryl hit my line and was like, ‘How do you feel about ‘Lan?’ I was like, ‘We’ve got to go get ‘Lan! What are we talking about?! ‘Lan is a dog, Cheryl!’ So I’m excited. I’m excited to play with ‘Lan again for sure.”

The two didn’t enter free agency as a package deal per se, but they made it clear that day, and in virtually every interaction since, that their interest in exploring a future endeavor together was more than mutual. 

After Williams signed first, she promptly picked up the phone and showed some potential as a future general manager for whenever she decides her playing days are over. 

“Courtney actually called me because she signed in Minny first,” Smith recalled during media availability ahead of Game 2 of the Finals. “And she was like, ‘You better get to Minnesota.’ I don’t think it was originally a package deal, but she was like, ‘Hey, I think you should come play in Minny.’ She was a big factor in why I chose to come to Minnesota because she was like, ‘Let’s do it again. Let’s go again.’”

The pitch landed, and that’s all that matters, though Williams remembers the specifics a bit more vividly. 

“I hit her and I was like, ‘’Lan, what we doing?’” Williams said. “She pretty much told me it was between Minnesota and another team, and I was like, ‘Look, man, we need some stability.’ The season we just had last season with having the different coaches and different things going on in Chicago, I’m like, ‘Don’t you want some stability?’ Like, ‘This team has a foundation. This has core people, so let’s go add on to that.’ I think from that point, she was like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s go do it then.’”

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The pair fit into the foundation the Lynx built on the court, and both earned starting spots out of training camp. In the regular season, Williams averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, while Smith contributed 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Off the court, their strong and still budding friendship fit in just as well with the community the Lynx cultivated as a team. 

“It was in the dance huddle when they started doing the same dance, and I guess they had been doing it in Chicago before,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said when asked whether there was a clear moment that showed their new teammates how close they were. “It’s been really cool. Obviously ‘Lan is having a great season. Courtney’s having a great season. It’s just cool that they get to play off each other and that they knew each other.

“It’s like a blended family. We all just came as we are. I can’t explain it any better than we just showed up as we are. We’re just a bunch of weirdos that enjoy playing basketball together … and it’s great.” 

Both players have added layers to the Lynx nucleus that were missing from the 2023 team. Smith earned her way onto the WNBA’s All-Defensive Second Team with her ability to, among many things, protect the rim and defend bigger players. In addition, her ability to hit outside shots and space the floor offensively opens things up for Williams, McBride, Bridget Carleton and MVP runner-up Napheesa Collier. 

Williams is a known threat to score from the midrange. Her presence forces defenses to pick their poison between a pass to Collier down low, a kick to an open shooter or giving Williams space inside the 3-point line. Not one to shy away from conversations with opponents, Williams is also a masterful communicator with her teammates, which is an essential part of running the lead guard spot for any Reeve team.  

“When she talks, you listen,” Smith said of Williams during the Lynx’s preseason media day. “And when she talks, you can also have conversations with her. It’s not just one-sided. … She wants your feedback. She wants you to talk to her and kind of walk through the game with you. That’s something that I really appreciate from Courtney, and I think that’s why we work so well together.”

Through the uncertainty of a midseason coaching change last year, to changing teams during free agency, and now, to the WNBA Finals, Smith and Williams have seen their games grow as they’ve grown closer as people. 

“This is really my dog for real. For real,” Williams said with Smith sitting next to her after a win against Connecticut in Game 2 of the semifinals. “I know what she can do because we were in the trenches in Chicago. So I think her coming here, us being able to do this together, seeing her [be] successful, seeing her get rewarded for her defense, seeing her knock down shots tonight, man, I’m so happy for her! I’m so proud of her. I love seeing her confidence continue to grow and grow.

“This is really my dog. So she gonna keep going crazy, and we gonna keep doing it together.”

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After Williams finished her praise, Smith slowly leaned toward the microphone and looked toward Williams, and the two erupted in laughter. It was the type of laughter you see from friends sharing an inside joke that no one else in the room understands. Smith said, “That’s hard to back up,” and then elaborated on achieving this level of success with her teammate and friend. 

“I remember watching Courtney as a rookie and being like, ‘Who is this chick?’” she said. “Constantly talking, midrange game like the best I’ve ever seen. So the fact that I’ve been able to get to know her as a person as well as a player, I am so grateful for that opportunity. She’s one of the best. She’s pulled me through some stuff that’s been really hard for me personally. It’s what you play for, to have teammates like this, to be able to win with people like this.”